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London councils called to bid for £86m neighbourhood transformation fund

A new £85.9m fund has today been announced by mayor of London Sadiq Khan designed to improve and transform town centres and neighbourhoods across the capital.

Called the New Liveable Neighbourhoods programme, it focuses particularly on encouraging walking, cycling and the use of public transport, and is aiming at making residents healthier and improving the air quality of London boroughs.

Boroughs will be able to bid for funding to pay for schemes that encourage people to be more active – in line with Khan’s ‘Healthy Streets’ approach.

Grants worth between £1m and £10m will be awarded for community projects that include the creation of green spaces, bringing in better cycling infrastructure, redesigning junctions and widening walking routes.

The mayor has also stressed that proposed schemes to reduce the need for car journeys will be prioritised for funding.

“I’ve set out bold plans to transform the way Londoners move around our city to improve our health, air quality and future prosperity,” Khan commented. “London’s boroughs are key partners in delivering this vision and through this new funding we can make a real difference by supporting the projects that local people want to see.

“This will ensure that the improvements really work for our local communities, transforming our town centres and successfully encouraging many more Londoners to walk, cycle or use public transport for the good of their health and our environment.”

Cllr Julian Bell, chair of London Councils’ Transport and Environment committee, said the capital’s boroughs are already working hard to transform neighbourhoods and provide additional facilities for local people and visitors to enjoy, and that the new fund will help them continue doing this.

“We welcome this funding, which will help us create beautiful and – crucially - functional spaces where we can promote sustainable methods of transport, such as walking and cycling, and reduce the impact of pollution,” he stated.

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